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Record 21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal says the ability to tolerate success and failure equally is one of the keys to his longevitry. Nadal, 35, has had lots of great moments on the court but he is no stranger to setbacks and dark periods.
Nadal achieved major success at a very young age but also started experiencing injury setbacks at a very young age. “It's important to have real inner humility, not false humility, to accept that things don't always go well, and tolerate bad times better," Nadal said in an interview at Cantabria Labs, per Sportskeeda.
"One of the keys to me continuing to play tennis today is that I tolerated success and failure equally. "Nothing is so fantastic and nothing is so terrible. There are good times and bad times. Emotionally, you have to maintain a middle line."
Nadal is constantly striving to get better
Nadal became a Grand Slam champion and world No.
1 at a very young age but that pushed him only to work harder. Nadal's desire to constantly get better and achieve more success is one of the most fascinating things in the game. "I always say and believe that everything can be improved, and days like today help us do it, not because in the end, you have a broader knowledge of the things we need," Nadal said.
"Above all, to be able to enjoy life... But without health it becomes impossible. This is the reality." Nadal made tennis history at this past Australian Open after beating world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in the final. Nadal was on the verge of suffering a straight-set loss but he impressively recovered to win 2-6 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-4 7-5.
It was Nadal's 21st Grand Slam, with which he overcame Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on the all-time Grand Slam record list. Nadal's next scheduled tournament is Acapulco, that is set to start on February 21.